


Genius Child

by realityisoverrated



Series: Infinite Love [89]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Polyamory, Polyfidelity, Smoaking billionaires, Toliver, flommy, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 04:36:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9862862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realityisoverrated/pseuds/realityisoverrated
Summary: Being a mom isn't easy. Being the mother of a genius has its own unique challenges. Felicity's son is looking to start university far from home. She's not ready to let him go.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This story depicts a polyamorous relationship between one woman and two men. If this is not something you are interested in, please stop and go no further. 
> 
> Thank you, readers, for your continued support of this series. I'm touched so many of you have chosen to stick with this series.
> 
> I'm not telling this series in chronological order. Some readers have requested that I provide a chronological order for the fics in the series. There is no need to read them in chronological order, but in case you'd like to, the list is below. This installment is 85/89. (There is a known issue at AO3. If viewing the stories from the series page, the story numbers aren't always correct. The story number when you open the individual stories is correct).  
> 1\. Beautiful Stranger (Part 28)  
> 2\. The Hack of the Golden Dragon (Part 36)  
> 3\. Girl Wednesday (Part 41)  
> 4\. This Time Last Year (Part 44)  
> 5\. We’ve Got Tonight (Part 85)  
> 6\. The First Time (Part 1)  
> 7\. The Interim CEO (Part 88)  
> 8\. Aloe and Chamomile (Part 40)  
> 9\. The Italian Restaurant (Part 3)  
> 10\. Ground Rules (Part 43)  
> 11\. Do The Hustle (Part 21)  
> 12\. The Secret Ingredient (Part 65)  
> 13\. Wherever You Are, There I Am (Part 8)  
> 14\. Perfect (Part 16)  
> 15\. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (Part 49)  
> 16\. Practical Jokes and Other Misunderstandings (Part 14)  
> 17\. Cobble Hill (Part 4)  
> 18\. The Sunnybrook (Part 51)  
> 19\. House Warming (Part 15)  
> 20\. 30 (Part 30)  
> 21\. Hong Kong (Part 35)  
> 22\. Twenty Questions Over Brunch (Part 11)  
> 23\. When A Kiss Is Not A Kiss (Part 86)  
> 24\. Hildy (Part 5)  
> 25\. Burgers & Lies (Part 9)  
> 26\. You Say You Want A Revolution (Part 22)  
> 27\. Unexpected Gifts (Part 70)  
> 28\. Look Me In The Eye And Make Me Feel The Truth (Part 12)  
> 29\. Fight Night (Part 20)  
> 30\. Fear and Loathing (Part 42)  
> 31\. With The Band (Part 53)  
> 32\. The Scarecrow (Part 59)  
> 33\. An Island Of His Own Making (Part 74)  
> 34\. Pas de Deux (Part 75)  
> 35\. Take It Back (Part 76)  
> 36\. Into Thin Air (Part 17)  
> 37\. Haunted (Part 58)  
> 38\. It Sings To Me (Part 84)  
> 39\. It’s Just Like Falling (Part 27)  
> 40\. Will You Still Love Me, Tomorrow? (Part 7)  
> 41\. Life With The Arrow (Part 23)  
> 42\. Up All Night (Part 6)  
> 43\. Welcome Home (Part 10)  
> 44\. Deadshot (Part 62)  
> 45\. Better Than Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes (Part 24)  
> 46\. The Right To Remain Silent (Part 61)  
> 47\. Home Is Where You Are (Part 2)  
> 48\. Somebody Get A Hammer (Part 26)  
> 49\. Tush Push (Part 48)  
> 50\. Elves (Part 68)  
> 51\. Three (Part 13)  
> 52\. Life Lived In The Tabloids (Part 18)  
> 53\. Tokyo Calling (Part 25)  
> 54\. Something Blue (Part 39)  
> 55\. I Do. I Do. I Do. (Part 82)  
> 56\. Prudence Chastity (Part 19)  
> 57\. Love Is Worth It In The End (Part 33)  
> 58\. The Mini (Part 38)  
> 59\. The Hall of Fame (Part 46)  
> 60\. A Name By Any Other (Part 47)  
> 61\. The Drop Out (Part 32)  
> 62\. Homework (Part 64)  
> 63\. Count Your Blessings (Part 71)  
> 64\. William (Part 29)  
> 65\. Hold On For One More Day (Part 31)  
> 66\. I Have No Gifts To Bring (Part 72)  
> 67\. Yours, Mine, Ours (Part 37)  
> 68\. Rules Are Made To Be Broken (Part 55)  
> 69\. The Forty-Year-Old Graduate (Part 78)  
> 70\. Take Me Out To The Ballgame (Part 83)  
> 71\. Hope Is Believing In The Light When All You See Is Darkness (Part 52)  
> 72\. Emma (Part 77)  
> 73\. Open Up And Say Ah (Part 60)  
> 74\. Tommy Merlyn’s No Good, Very Bad, Terrible Day (Part 81)  
> 75\. I Would Not Trade What Might Have Been For What Is (Part 50)  
> 76\. Brothers (Part 45)  
> 77\. Saturdays With The Green Arrow (Part 34)  
> 78\. True Love (Part 87)  
> 79\. Hallelujah (Part 69)  
> 80\. The Green Arrow Did It (Part 73)  
> 81\. Strawberry Milkshake With A Side Of Why (Part 56)  
> 82\. All About The Jeans (Part 54)  
> 83\. A Bunny For Prue (Part 63)  
> 84\. Day 107 (Part 67)  
> 85\. Genius Child (Part 89)  
> 86\. Boys Who Kiss Boys Who Kiss Girls Who Kiss Boys Who Kiss Boys (Part 57)  
> 87\. Scars (Part 79)  
> 88\. Tummy Aches and Heart Aches (Part 66)  
> 89\. Gut Punch (Part 80)
> 
> Welcome to any new readers who have stumbled into this universe. The more the merrier.
> 
> Arrow and its characters do not belong to me.

Artwork by ligiapimenta

 

"No," Felicity told Bobby for the fiftieth time in the last hour. Felicity had been fighting with Bobby from almost the moment she picked him up from drum practice.

"I can't believe you won't even let me apply to MIT or Cal Tech," Bobby whined. He held his drumsticks in one hand and was tapping out a beat on his leg. “Most parents would want their child to apply to those schools.”

"You're not even thirteen yet.  You're not going to college outside of Starling.  You can do your graduate studies at MIT or Cal Tech or both," she said as she navigated Starling's heavy rush hour traffic. “You’re too young to go away to school.”

"What school's going to take me after attending Starling City University?" Bobby huffed angrily. “You’re dooming me to mediocrity.”

Felicity bit her lip to keep herself from laughing at Bobby’s melodramatic pronouncements. "SCU is a top-rated school.  It's not MIT or Cal Tech, but it's a competitive school," Felicity tried to remind her son. SCU had an excellent reputation which had only gotten stronger over the past ten years. The high-paying high-tech jobs that had become plentiful in Starling had drawn top students and faculty to SCU. The money the Merlyn-Queen-Smoak family poured into the university’s facilities had also helped to attract top talent. William had turned down Cal Tech to attend SCU. William had wanted to be closer to Oliver and his siblings, but he was also enticed by the cutting-edge facilities and access to the top engineering professors in the country.

"Please, it's a safety school – at best.  They took daddy after he failed out of two schools," Bobby sullenly folded his arms across his chest.

"Both of which were Ivies," Felicity said in defense of her husband.  Oliver's poor academic performance as a young man sometimes made for tough parenting. “Don’t forget, he went to Princeton after SCU.”

Bobby snorted with derision, “Please, Princeton Is barely an Ivy. Besides, daddy only got into Ivies because grandpa made generous donations," Bobby pointed out.  "His SAT scores were 600."

Felicity sighed.  She wasn't about to tell their son that Oliver had arrived at his SATs drunk and had passed out during the exam.  "If that's the case, when you apply to grad school, I'll make generous donations to MIT and Cal Tech," she teased.

"Mom," he said with two syllables.

"Bobby, do you really want to live all by yourself?  Do you really want to be away from your sisters and brothers?  Wouldn't you miss your dads' cooking?  Watching Dr. Who with your old mom? Hanging out with William. Playing with Becca, Nate and Prue?"

"You went to MIT when you were only fifteen," he complained.

"There's a big difference between twelve and fifteen." The traffic came to a stop and she looked at her son, "You're not an adult yet."

"I'm not a child," he said defensively.  "I'll be thirteen in November. According to Rabbi Liebowitz, I’ll be a man after my Bar Mitzvah."

Felicity had to stop herself from laughing at her son trying to use his Bar Mitzvah as a trump card in his argument. Bobby had been complaining about Hebrew School and how pointless it was since he was nine. "No, you're not a child and you’re not an adult. You’re a young man who still has a lot of growing up to do and your dads and I believe that your growing up needs to happen under our supervision.  We're not ready to send you away to live on your own.  Believe it or not, you still need us."

"One of you can come with me," he offered, "or, we can all move to Massachusetts.  QC has an office in Boston.  What if Emma and William and I moved to Boston? They could work at the Boston office while I’m in school."

"Bobby," she sighed.  Tommy, Oliver and Felicity had spent hours and hours in bed at night discussing what to do about their eldest.  They talked about relocating the family.  They talked about Tommy or Oliver moving with Bobby.  They'd even talk about Oliver resuming his position as CEO so Felicity could take a sabbatical and move with Bobby. After all their conversations, they decided what was best for Bobby and their family was for Bobby to attend SCU and to continue living under their roof.  "Your dads and I want you to have a normal childhood.  Don't be in such a hurry to grow up."

"I'm not normal, mom,” he said with evident frustration. “Why can’t you make da and daddy understand? They’ll listen to you. You know what it’s like not to be normal."

"And I also know what it is to be lonely," she squeezed his hand.  "All this stuff you're rushing out to do will still be waiting for you in a few years.  This time, as a young man, won't wait.  We want you to have friends your own age. We want you to date, if that’s what you want to do. I rushed to leave my mom and go away to school. I wasn’t ready to be on my own, but I didn’t realize it until it was too late.” Felicity had been mature for her age, but she hadn’t been ready to live amongst eighteen and nineteen year olds. As much as she’d been exposed to sex and drugs in Vegas, it was different when your roommate was having sex in the bunk beneath yours and you’d never gone past second base with a boy. When she looked back at her time at MIT, she wouldn’t trade it, but she wished she’d still been living with her mom until she turned eighteen. If it had been a struggle to fit in at fifteen, it would be even harder to fit in at twelve. “I missed out on so many normal experiences by going to MIT so young. It was lonely being so much younger than my classmates. I don’t ever want you to feel so isolated and alone. You have to trust that your dads and I love you and we are doing what we think is best for you."

"It's not fair," he said angrily. “Just because you had a bad experience, it doesn’t mean that I will.” He glared out his window, "If the only doctor who could treat Prue was in Boston, you'd move the whole family."

"That's a false equivalency and you know it.  If you're going to make an argument, don't make an emotional one.  MIT isn't the only college where you can be successful and learn." Felicity understood that her eldest was upset with his parents’ decision, but she wouldn’t allow him to take out his frustration on his little sister. Prue’s health and Bobby’s academic future were not the same.

"So, you get to have degrees from MIT.  Da has one from Harvard and Stanford and I get stuck with SCU." He began to spin his drumsticks between his fingers and turned to face out the window, "That's completely unfair."

"I'm sorry that you feel that way. I know that you're going to do great things and it won't matter where you went to college.  Look at your daddy.  He accomplished so much through hard work and perseverance without a degree."

"Everyone made accommodations for him because he was shipwrecked. I guess I’ll have to get shipwrecked after I get my degree from SCU if I ever want MIT to take me,” he said sarcastically.

“I know you’re saying that to prove a point, but I don’t ever want to hear you say something like that in front of your dads. They won’t find you funny,” she said sharply.

“Fine, but even daddy went back to school,” Bobby snapped. “Degrees and where you get them are important.”

Felicity remembered the morning Oliver told her he was going back to school. His love for Bobby and his desire to be the best father he could be had inspired him to face what he’d considered one of his greatest moral failings. "Your daddy loves you so much. He went back to school because the moment he held you in his arms, he wanted you to know that anything is possible, that no mistake is unfixable, and that you should never give up."

"Except MIT," Bobby said with tears in his eyes. “You want me to give up on MIT.”

"No, we don’t want you to give up on MIT,” Felicity said firmly. She wanted to give Bobby everything that he wanted, but she knew that as much as he wanted to go to MIT, it wasn’t what he needed. “MIT is still possible for you, just not until you're old enough to drive, shave and get the sex talk from your dads."

Bobby rolled his eyes, "I've already had the sex talk."

Felicity smiled.  She knew what Oliver had told William during the sex talk and Bobby had definitely not received the sex talk.  "Well, at least until you can shave."

"How old were da and daddy when they started to shave?" he asked with curiosity.

She tried to remember if the guys had ever told her about starting to shave.  From their teenaged photos, they both appear to be baby-faced.  Tommy had the courser stubble, so she assumed he started shaving before Oliver. "I don't know.  That sounds like a good question to ask them - in person – which you couldn’t do if you lived across the country."

“It’s called Holocon,” Bobby said sullenly.

“We can’t hug and kiss you over Holocon,” Felicity said. She wasn’t prepared to send her baby off to college. Even if his intelligence was off the charts, he was still a little boy in many ways. He still needed his parents nearby. Bobby still cuddled on the sofa with his dads when they watched movies. He still liked for Felicity to rub his back when he couldn’t fall asleep at night. As much as Bobby thought he was an adult, his parents knew otherwise. “What about Siu? Won’t you miss him if you go all the way to Massachusetts?” Felicity felt a little guilty playing the best friend card, but she was desperate. Bobby and Siu had been inseparable since the first day of kindergarten and if his family wasn’t enough of a reason to stay in Starling, maybe his friend would be.

Bobby shrugged, “Yeah, but I’d still get to see him on holidays and we could Holocon every day.”

“It wouldn’t be the same,” Felicity said kindly. “You’d miss playing baseball and videogames with him.”

“I guess,” he mumbled. Bobby sat quietly staring out the window at the unmoving traffic.  "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"For what?" she wasn't sure he had anything to apologize for.

"I shouldn't have said those mean things about SCU.  I don't think daddy is stupid," he said apologetically.

"I know, sweetheart," Felicity acknowledged. She knew how much her son idolized his dad.

"I remember his graduation," he said quietly.

"You do?" she asked with surprise. "You were so little."

He nodded, "I remember it being hot and I remember daddy picking me up in his black robe.  He was laughing and you and da were smiling."

"We were proud of him.  We are always proud of him, but we were very proud that day," she remarked truthfully. Oliver had worked hard to obtain his degree and he did it while keeping the city safe and running the Queen Foundation.

Bobby shifted in his seat to face Felicity, "Why doesn't daddy talk about being shipwrecked?"

Felicity glanced quickly at her son, "Those five years make your daddy sad." The children occasionally asked Oliver about his scars, but they didn’t ask about his five years away beyond wanting to know where he slept and what he ate.

"Da won't talk about it either," Bobby said with a hint of nonchalance to his voice in an attempt to disguise his curiosity.

As much as the children understood how much their dads loved one another, they failed to grasp the connection they’d shared before the Gambit. Bobby didn’t understand the profound loss Tommy had felt when he believed Oliver to be dead. She wondered if they were doing a disservice to their children by trying to protect them from those five years. Those years had shaped both Oliver and Tommy into the men that had become her children’s fathers. Felicity rested a hand on the back of Bobby’s neck, "It makes your da sad too.  He missed your daddy while he was gone."

"You know what happened,” Bobby stated.

"I do.”

"Do you know how he got all of his scars?"

"I do."

“I know that really bad things happened to daddy. Bad people did bad things to him,” Bobby said solemnly. “I know that daddy isn’t a klutz and he didn’t get all those scars tripping.”

“Those five years weren’t good years, Robert,” she said trying to be as honest as she could.

"But you won't tell me?" he sounded hurt that she refused to confide in him.

"They're your daddy's stories to tell."

"Do you think he'll ever tell me any of them?"

Felicity knew that Oliver didn’t plan on keeping everything about those five years secret, but she also knew there were things he would never share with their children. Many of the terrible choices he made to stay alive would go with him to his grave. "I think when you're older, he'll tell you some of them."

"But not right now?"

"Baby, none of his stories are happy stories.  He doesn't want you to know how hard the world can be until you're older." The traffic came to a stop and she turned to look at him, “You and your brothers and sisters make your daddy so happy. He doesn’t like to think about those years.”

"My grandmothers were murdered.  My one grandfather murdered my other grandfather and he tried to kill my dad.  I know the world is cruel."

"Maybe your daddy needs you to stay little a little while longer.” Felicity tapped his leg before returning her attention to the traffic, “Maybe we all do."

After a few minutes of silence, Bobby looked at his mom and with pride said, “I’m good enough to get into MIT and Cal Tech.”

Felicity reached across to him and squeezed his hand, “I know you are, Bobby. I couldn’t be more proud of you.”

“If I go to SCU, can I move my bedroom to the third floor?” he asked hopefully.

“William’s room?” she asked with surprise.

Bobby rolled his eyes, “William’s marrying Emma, he doesn’t need his old bedroom.”

Felicity’s eyes flew to her son before returning to the traffic, “Robert John Smoak, what do you know?”

“Can I move to the third floor?” he waggled his eyebrows.

Felicity laughed, “Are you blackmailing your own mother.”

“I’m a Merlyn-Queen too,” he teased.

“Fine,” she shook her head, “I’ll talk to your dads about moving you to the third floor.”

A large smile spread across his face, “William is going to ask daddy for one of Grandma Moira’s rings.”

Felicity catalogued all of Moira’s jewelry in Oliver’s safety deposit box. A cushion cut diamond in a platinum art deco setting that had belonged to Oliver’s grandmother popped into her mind. “I know the perfect ring,” Felicity said as she beamed with happiness.  She ruffled Bobby’s thick mop of curls, “You’d miss all of us in Cambridge.”

Bobby began to tap a beat out on his legs and just smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Kudos and comments are always welcomed and appreciated. Hearing from you is my favorite part of the day.
> 
> Prompt requests are encouraged.
> 
> You can also come say hi to me on tumblr. http://realityisoverrated-fic.tumblr.com


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